Guardian Angel
by TheMightyKoosh
Summary: What if Sasuke protected Naruto just by being there? What happenes when he leaves? And finds Naruto a quivering wreck? Will he be able to protect Naruto from the wrath of the Villagers on his return? better sumary inside SasuNaru
1. Memories

**Guardian Angel**

Disclaimer - I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, SO PLEASE STOP RUBBING IT IN cries

Just being friends with Sasuke, meant that Naruto was protected by the villagers, even though he didn't do anything, he helped just by being there. So when Sasuke leaves, it goes back to what it was like before they became Genin. When he finally returns, will He be able to save hin from the wrath of the villagers.

Enjoy!

**Guardian Angel – Chapter 1 – Memories**

The blonde boy stared forlornly out of his dust covered window, watching the occupants of Konoha go about their day business. A pang of grief stabbed through his heart, it had been a bad day today. _Why me? _He thought _Why am I the one so unloved?_

As Naruto gazed, a silent tear made its way down his whiskered cheek, as memory after memory flashed through his mind.

* * *

He was three years old. Small, blonde, blue eyed. He was sat on a bench in the nearby park. There were children his age, being pushed on the swings by their fathers, laughing with joy, carefree, a wonderful summer's day. 

And then someone looked up, and noticed the demon child, all alone in the shadows. He heard murmurs of discontent, he was only three years old, he didn't understand what he had done wrong.

Suddenly the park was empty, the villagers not wanting their children anywhere near him. He sat on the wooden swing, where only moments before it had been in use. It was still warm; this was the closest he had gotten to human contact in weeks.

He stared at the dusty ground, there was no-one to push the swing for him, there never had be. _Have I been bad? _He thought _I must have been bad for everyone to hate me so._

He looked at the sky, darkening with foreboding rain clouds, and silent tears made their way down his grubby cheeks. _Why won't anyone love me?_

* * *

He was ten years old, a loud mouth, trying to get someone, anyone's attention. He was acting stupid, he knew it, and he knew that this wasn't the way to make his class mates like him, but nothing else had ever worked. They hated him. They always had, and they always will. 

He sighed, and sat down, he might as well give up this once, and he didn't want to anger Iruka-Sensei too much, after all, it wasn't his fault that nobody could bring themselves to love the demon child.

Naruto had always found it strange that the villagers had called him that. He wasn't a demon, was he? He hadn't done anything that bad, had he? No, he knew he hadn't, and yet he couldn't comprehend why they hated him so.

He went home alone that night. Again. No warm welcome back for him, no lovingly prepared meal, just the usual instant ramen.

* * *

He was twelve years old, in the forest outside of Konoha. The sweat was dripping of his forehead. He was staring, astounded, at Mizuki. 

No, it couldn't be true, could it? He refused to accept that it was true.

And yet…

_Get away, Demon Child_

_Monster_

_Murderer_

It made sense now, why the villagers had hated him for so long, why they looked at him with those cold, hard eyes, why no-one could bring themselves to love him.

He was the demon, the Nine-Tailed fox that had tried to destroy the village. He was Kyuubi.

* * *

That day. He was walking down the street, returning from a bout of training. The usual murmurs and comments followed him wherever he went. 

A rock hit him. He heard the crack as it collided with his scull. Raising his hand, he felt warm blood dripping down, matting his hair together.

Laughter.

Cruel laughter of the villager who had thrown it.

This was the third time that week. But it was the comment that followed that hurt the most.

_Why don't you just go die, demon._

The child didn't know why he said it; he was just mimicking his parents.

* * *

And yet, in and amongst all the painful times, there were happen times to. 

As Team 7, training as Shinobi.

They were always yelling at him, telling him to stop goofing around. But he didn't mind, because they had fun, and they were never mean, well, not most of the time. And it was the only time that anyone acknowledged him.

That's why it had hit him so hard when Sasuke had left. Even when he was taunting him, always calling him _dobe_, it didn't matter, they were friends and rivals. The first person Naruto had ever truly connected with.

Gradually, over time, things had gotten better.

He didn't know if he just didn't notice it so much in his happiness. Or if the taunts had grown less severe as Team 7 was established.

* * *

He was lying in the dirt. The ground was churned up and mixed with blood. He could hear the crashing noise of the waterfall behind him, crashing on the jagged rocks below. He could hear his heart pounding, almost as loud as the river. 

Staring down at him was boy of his own age. Ivory skin, midnight eyes and raven hair. His rival and his best friend.

There was a kunai in his hand, pointed down at his chest. There a murderous glint in his eyes, like Naruto had never seen before. He was frightened. Not of death, but of loosing Sasuke.

The hand clutching the kunai raised, the hand came down. But it stopped abruptly. The boy snorted, turned on his heel, and casually walked off, as if he were merely going to the shops.

But Naruto had seen that look in his eyes before he had turned. What was it, compassion, friendship, regret? He hadn't been able to kill him. And it gave Naruto hope. Hoe for the future, that they would get Sasuke back. Whether it would take a year, or a life time, he would return.

And these were the blonde's last thoughts before the blackness engulfed him and he lost consciousness.

* * *

The sun had set, and slowly the trail of villagers was diminishing as everyone returned to their homes and families. 

By now the tears were flowing freely. But strangely, it was the happy memories of the fun times with Sasuke that had brought on this depression.

As a child he had struggled on alone, but as a Gennin, he had had Sasuke.

But then he left, and left him alone again. And the taunts had come back, with a vengeance.

With a sigh he left his seat by the window, and flopped down on his hard, wooden bed.

He had gone back to square one, and had no-one to take him forwards again.

* * *

Woot. Sorry it was so short. 

In true Naruto fashion, I gave you.../drumroll/ FLASHBACKS!!!! yay

Thanks for reading


	2. Shopping

Woot, another chapter. I just hope didn't take me too long to update

Disclaimer - Unfortunately I still do not own Naruto (cries)

****

**Guardian Angel – Chapter 2 – Shopping**

The sun was steaming through the bedroom window, where it gracefully fell on the sleeping blonde. 

He groaned and slowly sat up. His large blue eyes blinked, before he rubbed the sleep out of them.

With a sigh, Naruto rolled out of bed.

_And so begins another day in the life of Uzumaki Naruto._

He dragged himself into the small kitchen. He opened the fridge door. There was a pint of milk, but one whiff told him that it was undrinkable. Other than that, nothing.

Next he turned his attention to the cupboard. His last cup ramen. Other than that, nothing. _Damn it, that means I have to go shopping _he thought.

He dragged a finger across the wooden base. Dust lifted of at the gentle touch. With a sigh he slammed the door. _Guess I'll be skipping breakfast today. _

Staring out the window, he noticed that it was brilliant summers day, after all, it was the middle of August.

He slowly turned his gaze from the window, and stared at the wooden door. He took one step closer. And paused, his gaze never once wavering. Slowly, he placed one foot in front of the other, until he was up against the door.

He stretched out one quivering hand, he grabbed the handle. With a sigh, he let his hand drop to his side. He hung his head with shame at his own weakness.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to walk through the village, and expose himself to their accusing glares.

Instead, he jumped out the window, and took the rooftop way to the training ground. This way, he could avoid his tormentors, at least for the time being. 

* * *

When he neared the gates of the village, he jumped down from the roofs into a dark alleyway. Silently, he made his way to the nearby gates, and into the forest.

Running through the trees, delighting in the mid-summer breeze, he made his way to the training ground where he was soon to be meeting with Team 7.

Reaching the ground, he saw that he was the first to arrive, and sat down under the sweeping boughs of large tree, sheltered from the sun by the cool shade.

As he sat in his spot on the grass, and gazed off into the distance, memories of last nights breakdown came flashing back, and he clenched his fists at his own weakness, unaware that he was murmuring to himself.

"Umm, Naruto?" he was jolted out of his reverie, shocked that he hadn't heard the pink haired kunoichi coming.

He jumped up, one hand behind his head, cheesy smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, Hi Sakura-Chan!"

"You're here early…" she said suspiciously, glancing behind the tree. "Who were you talking to?" she asked, her green eyes narrowing.

"Oh, uh, just a millionaire with a fetish for the colour pink" he said nonchalantly. 

She looked up at him at this, and noticing the cheeky smirk, brought her fist back, and punched him on the arm, hard. 

A quiet chuckle alerted them to their Sensei, nose stuck in a book, as per usual.

He raised a gloved hand in greeting. Snapping his book shut, he slowly put it in his pocket, raising his head to look fondly at his bickering students.

"Ne, ne, Kakashi-Sensei, have we got any missions today?" asked the hyperactive blonde, bouncing up and down.

"Nope" he smiled as their faces dropped "Just the same old training, so Sakura, Naruto, you two spar, I'll, um, just watch" With that he pulled out his much loved and much read book.

The two young shinobi, took up their stances, before Sakura suddenly stopped, and looked at their Sensei, who was now sitting on the patch of grass that was until recently occupied by Naruto.

"Wait, why aren't you training" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, I, um, didn't get much sleep" he mumbled, scratching the back of his head nervously "I was up all night looking after my dolphin" underneath his mask he smirked happily.

His two students gave him odd glances, before their sparing match began.

* * *

The three shinobi sat under the sweeping branches of the tree. Sweat was dripping of Naruto and Sakura's foreheads. It was mid-day, and they were taking a much needed lunch break from their training.

At least two of them were.

"Oi, Naruto, not eating anything?" the blonde, spiked head jerked up at the question, and he caught the concerned look in Sakura's eyes.

"Um, no, I forgot to bring it" he mumbled, pulling little tufts of grass up.

_Strange, _she thought, _if there's one thing Naruto loves, it's food._

She looked at him before catching Kakashi's eye; he gave her an understanding nod, before they went on with their lunch.

* * *

"Okay, I think we'll leave it there for today, guys" Naruto and Sakura flopped onto the grass at this.

The blonde lay on his back, staring at the gradually darkening sky. His breathing was heavy, and sweat soaked his back, sticking his orange jumpsuit to his skin.

"So Naruto, got any plans for this evening?" asked the pink haired kunoichi. He glanced up in surprise.

"No, just a bit of shopping" he said quietly, flinching. Hus reaction didn't go un-noticed by his teacher and friend, and they silently conversed over the top of his head.

"I'll come" she said, jumping up and grabbing his hand. "Bye, Kakashi-Sensei." And with that she dragged a stunned Naruto off towards the village.

* * *

As they grew nearer and nearer to the village, the blonde became tenser and tenser. As they reached the gates, his fists clenched, and his jaw locked.

"Um, Naruto, are you ok?" Sakura asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied quickly, quickening the pace as they crossed over the threshold. A few feet in, and they passed a dark alleyway. Naruto looked down it longingly, his gaze staying there for a few moments, before he sighed and moved on.

Looking up, he caught Sakura's questioning look. He smiled brightly, pretending that nothing was wrong, that he wasn't scared to walk through the village he strived to protect. As if the very thought didn't give him nightmares, and leave him shaking like a leaf. 

Every time a loud noise was made he would flinch. And every time a shout was heard he looked around, as if checking something. The further down the street they got, the more Naruto seemed to retreat into himself.

"So, where do you wanna get your shopping from then?" 

_Where ever they'll allow me in _he thought, but then he couldn't exactly say that to his friend.

"Where ever." He sighed, approaching the nearest shop. But as he approached the door, the owner must have noticed him, because just before he could push the door open, they flipped the 'open' sign round to 'closed'.

Sighing, he made his way down the street. But the same happened at the next shop as well. By the third shop, Sakura grabbed his arm, and spun him around to face her.

"What's with that Naruto?" she asked angrily.

"Huh, oh, it's always this way." He mumbled. "Most of the time they don't let me in the shops, when they do, they usually charge me extortionate prices."

"But…but…they can't do that" she fumed, curling her hands into fists.

"It's ok, Sakura-chan, I've grown to except it, and now so must you." He said gently. She was shocked at how defeated he sounded.

The fourth shop owner let him in. _Thank god, I was getting worried no-one would let me in, like that last time, when I went hungry for almost a week, _he thought.

He entered the small shop, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Picking up one of the little baskets, he navigated his way to the instant ramen aisle. He filled the basket up with as many as he could carry, and made his way to the small queue at the checkout.

"You've got to buy more then that, Naruto, you can't live just off instant ramen." She scolded.

"It's all I can afford." He said bluntly, placing the basket on the checkout.

The man serving at the till started ringing up all the ramen, shooting daggers at the blonde. Naruto pulled out his frog purse, and paid the price that was mumbled to him.

But as he turned to leave, shopping in hand, a firm hand stopped him. Looking up, he saw that Sakura was fuming. _Shit, she better not make a fuss._

Angrily she turned to man.

"You can't do that!" she yelled, "That's what, ten percent added on the price it actually cost" she rolled up her sleeve, preparing to bash the owner.

"It's okay, Sakura" he said desperately, pulling his friend out the shop. She began to argue, but one look told her not to, and reluctantly she followed him.

But just before they left, he took one look at the shop keeper. And that one look told him all. He shivered at the message the eyes sent him.

_Be careful, Brat, your friend wont always be around to protect you._

* * *

They silently made their way down the street. Sakura was shocked at Naruto's resignation, and how bad the villagers treated him. When just before it could get any worse, a rock hit him on the head, and he didn't even flinch, but just continued his way home, a trickle of blood trickling down his head.

"Why the fucks don't you fight back." She finally burst out, stopping in the middle of the road.

He sighed, hanging his head, staring at the dusty road.

"Just leave it, will you Sakura"

"But…but….your a ninja, they're just civilians" she ranted

"Yeah, I know, but fighting back just makes it worse, okay? Just go home." He concluded, they had reached a crossroads, and he knew that she lived in the opposite direction to him.

She shook her head, before turning right, and making her way home, contemplating what had been revealed to her that night.

He watched her for a minute, before turning left, to make his own way home to his rundown flat. He went slowly, he didn't have anything waiting for him at home. Kicking a pebble, he absentmindedly contemplated the days events, scolding himself for allowing Sakura to come on his shopping trip, and his weakness in matters where the villagers were concerned.

Rounding the corner by Ichiraku's, he didn't notice the three villagers waiting for him until it was too late. _Shit. _Inside he was screaming, but outside he remained impassive. _See Sasuke, it's not that hard, _he thought, trying to keep his mind off the problem at hand, hoping that it would just go away.

He had no such luck.

A sinister chuckle brought him back to the present, and he realised that his worst fears were about to be realised. He swiftly turned on his heel, maybe he would be able to make it to Sakura's, if he ran really quickly.

Too late, a hand held him by the collar.

"No little friend to protect you now, eh, brat" sneered the man. His cronies chortled. 

He turned around to face his attackers, and a fist collided with his stomach. He doubled over, the breath knocked out of him, gasping for air, only be kicked in the ribs. He fell to his knees, and one of the other men grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head backwards. He sneered at him, and Naruto could smell alcohol on his breath, and dragged him down a nearby alleyway.

_Shit. _This day was going from bad, to worse, and progressing from that. Oof, again the air was knocked out of him, and a fist collided with his eye, another with his jaw.

Why didn't he fight back? Because that made it worse, he was afraid of what would happen, that they would just come back worse, with a vengeance, and then what would happen?

So he just took it, and after he went home, and cleaned his fresh wounds.

But today it was worse. There was a resounding crack as his skull collided with the floor. His vision wavered as he lost blood and kicked after kick collided with his ribs. He was half aware of what was going on, he was aware of the pain, and of cruel laughter as his tormentors walked away. He groaned, before a wave of blackness flooded him and he lost all consciousness. 

* * *

Slowly, blue eyes opened, and Naruto groaned as the pain hit him. He didn't no what time it was, or how long he had been out for, but the sky was dark, and the village was silent, except for a few barking dogs.

He stayed there for a moment, staring at the stars, before slowly, painfully getting up. Dried blood was caked down the side of his face, and his clothes were torn.

As he stood, the ground beneath his feet seemed to sway, so he grabbed onto the wall to steady himself, sharply pulling in breath between his ribs, trying not to aggravate them.

_Now to see if I can get to my flat without passing out, _he thought bitterly. Wincing at every step.

It took him half an hour to limp a journey that was usually less than a ten minute walk. But he finally reached the door to the rundown building where he lived.

He paused at the bottom of the steps to catch his breath, before he heaved himself up the first flight, to the floor where he lived. He fumbled with the key, before he finally opened the front door.

He stumbled into the small, humble flat. He closed to door behind him, and trailed to his small bedroom. Collapsing onto the wooden pallet he called a bed, he fell into blissful sleep. In pleasant dreams, far away from the horrific reality of his life.

* * *

Poor Naruto T.T

Thanks for reading

I sorta felt it took me too long to get to the point...but oh well kekekekek


	3. Arrival

So yea, I'm really happy this up. I'm just sorry it took so long to update.

Disclaimer - still don't own Naruto wail

Normal

_Thoughts_

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* * *

**

**Guardian Angel – Chapter 3 – Arrival **

The bright sunlight streaming through the windows woke Naruto from his sleep. He groaned and rolled over, only to groan loader, as the pain from the previous night hit him. He slowly sat up.

His orange jumpsuit was torn and covered in dried blood. His hair was matted where blood had dried and it was all caked down the side of his face. He looked a mess.

He stood up and winced. He shuffled out of his bedroom and into the small bathroom. There was a small stand in shower with a toilet and sink, painted a horrible baby puke colour.

He striped of the clothes and chucked them in a corner, _well they can't be worn again, _and stepping into the cubicle, he turned on the shower. The water was freezing, he couldn't afford the heating bill, not that there was any point in paying, his landlord liked to mess with him and often turned it off anyway.

Despite the cold temperature, he enjoyed the shower, it washed off the blood, and woke him up. Glancing at his torso, he saw that it was badly bruised. His rib area looked black, he prodded them and winced, but at least they weren't broken. 

Stepping out the shower, he dried of using an old towel, and made his way to his room to find another orange jumpsuit. His stomach rumbled, and he remembered that it had been over twenty four hours since his last meal, he was starving. 

He switched the kettle on. _At least he hasn't turned the electricity off, _he thought bitterly, filling up a cup of instant ramen. He left it for three minutes, impatient that it took so long. 

His impatience reminded him of their first day as Gennin, when Kakashi-Sensei had asked them Likes, dislikes and hates. _No, don't think about that, _he thought as the memories of Sasuke called up painful thoughts. At least he had left to follow his dreams, that was colder than he had ever gotten. 

But at last his meagre meal was ready, and he tucked in, barely tasting the food before it was swallowed.

Looking at the clock he realised he was late. _Shit, now I'll be later than Kakashi, if that's even possible._ _Only one way to find out._

And so he jumped out the window, again taking the rooftops to the edge of Konoha. He jumped down into his usual alleyway, and made his way to the gates. Halfway there, he heard a shout, and flinched, running the rest of the way. Every step was agony, but it was better then facing the villagers. He didn't know if the shout was directed at him or not, but he didn't want to hang around to find out.

He walked to the training ground; again it took him longer than it should have, as every step was agony for his bruised ribs. When he got there, he realised with a jolt that even Kakashi, who was famed for being late, was there.

He raised his hand in greeting. Kakashi jumped up, he seemed pretty angry.

"Naruto!" he shouted, mock angrily. The blonde flinched, and instantly panicked, from his experience, shouting was followed by anger, anger was followed by violence, violence usually taken out on him. 

He instinctively withdrew into himself, bracing himself for a punch, a kick.

"What's wrong Naruto? It's not like I'm going to hit you, I was only joking." He said, concern obvious in his voice.

Sakura punched him playfully in the ribs, it was hardly her usual powerful, chakra filled death punch, but it hurt his already damaged ribs.

He gave a sharp intake of breath, and his legs buckled as pain shot through his torso, and he landed on the dewy grass.

He kept his eyes shut tight, not wanting to face them, as he knew that this looked bad.

"Naruto? Are you ok?" He nodded, not trusting himself to talk. Kakashi looked up at Sakura, concerned.

"I…I…didn't hit him that hard, I didn't mean to hurt him" she stuttered, her voice nearly breaking. _Shit, this was bad, very bad._

He whimpered as a warm hand rested on his back, aggravating his bruises. He heard his name called softly.

"Can you stand up, Naruto?" asked his Sensei. He nodded, and firm but gentle hands helped him to his feet. He stared at the grass, and let himself be guided over to the same tree where he had sat the day before.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on?" asked Kakashi, concern obvious in his voice. 

He sighed, and took his orange jacket off, wincing with every movement. Slowly, in order to cause as little pain as possible, he lifted his black tee-shirt over his head. He heard them gasp as they saw his saw his blackened chest, and he mentally slapped himself for letting them see him so weak.

"N…Naruto, how did this happen?" stuttered Sakura, sounding surprisingly like Hinata. 

"I fell down the stairs" he mumbled, staring at the ground, avoiding all eye contact.

She crouched down in front of him, looking at him tenderly.

"Was this the villagers, Naruto" she asked gently. He shook his vigorously.

"No! As I said, I fell down the stairs, there was some damp, the block of flats is getting quite rundown" he said, his lie getting stronger and sounding more sure the further he got telling it. She sighed and stood up.

"We might as well drop training for today, we can't do much with you like that" came Kakashi's voice. _Thank God, they seem to be dropping it this time. I must be getting better at lying._

"Come on then, Naruto" said Kakashi, turning on his heel and heading back towards the village.

"I don't need to be walked home!" he shouted indignantly, stumbling as he stood up.

"Sure you don't" came the sarcastic reply. He crossed his arms, but followed him nonetheless. 

* * *

They walked through Konoha in Silence. Naruto was staring at the ground the entire time, and Kakashi was glaring at all the villagers, sending people with snide remarks on their tongues scurrying for cover.

In no time at all they had reached the door to Naruto's flat. _Wow, time really does fly when no-one makes your life hell. _

"Well, this is me" he murmured, unlocking the door, "You can come in, if you like" he said awkwardly, holding the door open. Kakashi slipped past him.

"I would offer you something, but I kinda need to do the shopping" he said, laughing slightly "But you can have some water."

"Yea, waters good" he went to the sink, and filled a paper cup with metallic tasting water from the tap, and handed it to his Sensei.

He was shocked at the dump that Naruto lived in. His sofa was stained, and looked like it had been found in a dump, there was no kitchen table, there were no doors other then the entrance in the flat, just the frames, and instead of a window, there was a hole covered with a black bag. It was dismal.

There was an awkward silence, as Kakashi perched on the sofa and sipped his drink, and Naruto fiddled with his fingers, not really knowing what to say. He yawned.

"Uh...I should probably go now." Said Kakashi, standing up.

"Okay, Sensei." Replied Naruto, glad of the release.

Once his teacher had left, he went back to bed, he was still tired from the events of the night before. 

* * *

He woke up, it was around seven o'clock in the night. He heard an ominous crackling sound.

Leaping up, he ran to the sitting room, where his sofa was on fire, it obviously hadn't been lit for very long, as it hadn't spread, but he would have to act fast. In the corner of the kitchen, which was part of the same room, there was a bucket, collecting water from a leak in the ceiling.

In a flash, he had picked up the bucket, and thrown it over the burning furniture. It didn't do much, but it helped a bit.

As quick as he could, he filled the bucket with water, and thrown it over the fire. After doing this several more times, the fire had finally be smothered, and he flopped down onto the floor.

All that was left was a pile of ash, and scorch marks, showing where it had once been. He swept up the ash, and threw it out the window, there was nothing he could do about the marks.

_Damn landlord, why does he have to a key? Sneaking in here, trying to fry me while I sleep, that's low, even for him. _

He jumped out the window, not wanting be in the flat, afraid of what the landlord would do. So he went to Hokage Mountain, and watched the village. Regardless of how he had been treated, he wanted to protect it, to ensure that no-one would ever be as sad as he ever was, that everyone felt the love they deserved, and to be recognised as a worthy ninja.

And there he fell asleep, curled up on Tsunade's head.

* * *

The raven haired youth stared up at the wall before him. _How long it's been since I was last here. Maybe I'll wait, just tonight. _He turned, the moonlight highlighting the strange fan emblazoned on his back, and found a nice spot by the wall.

There he slept, under the milky moon, shrouded in the shadows of the night. 

* * *

Thanks for reading. Reviewers recieve happy thoughts. If you have ideas on what you would like to happen, tell me, though I do already have some ideas.

I know he only appeared at the end...sorry 'bout that.


	4. Reunion

So here we have it guys, chapter 4. Hope you all I had a good easter

Do I look like I own Naruto, several posters, yes, the real thing, no. That honour belongs to Masashi Kishamoto.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Guardian Angel ****– Chapter 4 – Reunion **

Naruto slowly uncurled himself, stretching out his stiff limbs, wincing at his bruised ribs. He looked out across the village, the sun was rising over the horizon, it was a beautiful sight, and made him feel at peace.

He watched as the village came to life.

* * *

The raven haired woke up, sunlight washing over him. He took a deep breath. He had faced many fearsome opponents since leaving with Orochimaru, and yet nothing scared him more than the thought of returning Konoha and facing the villagers and Tsunade. But what was on his mind most was, Naruto. What would he say to him? How would he react?

He made the correct hand signs, and his body disappeared with a poof and a puff of smoke, only to reappear besides the building where the Hokage was based.

He contemplated appear straight in Tsunade's office, but he decided against that. He wanted to appear polite, compliant, if he wanted to be readmitted into Konoha.

He approached the entrance door, and stopped before the two guards. They looked at him in utter shock.

"Uchiha" they said in unison. _What had that bastard come back for?_

"I would like to speak to Godaime" he said, as politely as his Uchiha pride would allow.

"We'll have to escort you" said one, taking his arm. The other guard took his other arm, and together they marched him to her office.

* * *

Sakura yelled up a good bye, before closing the door behind her. Slowly she made her way over to Tsunade's office. There were to be no Team 7 meetings until Naruto's ribs were healed, so she was helping Tsunade out instead.

She cheerily greeted the guards, and made her way to the office. But when she reached the door, Shizune was waiting anxiously outside.

"I'm afraid you can't go in yet, Sakura, Tsunade has an unexpected meeting" she said, her body blocking the door.

"Oh, okay, can I wait here then?"

The assistant nodded, and Sakura seated herself on the floor opposite the office.

* * *

"Readmission into Konoha?"

"You heard me" _time to swallow your pride, Sasuke, _"Look, I know I made a mistake, but what can I say, I'm only human"

"Well, I'll see what I can do, but if the Elders don't like it" she trailed off, letting the implications lie.

He nodded, understanding that the village had to be put first.

* * *

A little while later, the door opened a fraction, and Tsunade slipped out. She looked stressed and bewildered.

"Ah, Sakura, just the person I wanted to see. Go and get Kakashi and Naruto, and return here immediately" she ordered, not waiting for a reply before returning to the office.

Sakura saluted and marched out of the building.

* * *

The blonde boy looked up, aware of a presence behind him, looking up, he saw Sakura and Kakashi. He stood up, and raised his hand in greeting, making his way towards them.

"At last, we've been looking for you for ages, why on earth are you up here" she asked, grabbing him by the hand and leading him off the heads of their Hokage's, past and present.

"Just watching the world go by. So why were you looking for me, Sakura-Chan?" he asked, snatching his hand away.

"Because Tsunade-Sama told me to. Now get your ass in gear, we can't keep her waiting, it seemed urgent."

* * *

Kakashi knocked on the wooden door. It slowly opened, to reveal a flustered Tsunade.

She slipped through and closed the door behind her.

"Um, I feel I should in some way prepare you for what's behind the door." They looked at her, bewildered. It was unlike her to be lost for words.

"What is it, Tsunade-Bachan?" several different possibilities were running through Naruto's mind, each one worse than the one that came before it.

She mumbled something, before opening the door, and allowing them entry.

There was someone already in the room, their back to the door. They had black, spiky hair. All too familiar black, spiky hair. Slowly they turned, and stared at them with deep, onyx eyes.

It was non-other than Uchiha Sasuke. The final member who made up Team 7, a friend, a rival.

They looked at him, astonished. He looked back. But the eyes he sought out the most were Naruto's. He had missed the beautiful, shining blue.

But they had changed. He cocked his head slightly, trying to work out what it was he saw.

For the most part, they were still the same. But looking deeper he saw something. What was it, hurt, some sort of deep suffering?

There was an awkward silence.

"I'll leave you guys for a while" the door closed as Tsunade left the room.

Naruto clenched his fists. The walls felt like they were closing in, he couldn't breathe; he had to get out of that room. Suddenly he jumped out the window, and disappeared into the street.

"Well, that wasn't the welcome I expected" Sasuke said, after a few moments.

"You disappeared for three years, Sasuke, what did you expect, that you could come back, and everything would go back to the way it was." She said, not unkindly.

The raven headed youth hung his head, excepting that she spoke the truth. Stepping forwards she wrapped her arms around him.

"Welcome home" she whispered.

Through their brief encounter, Kakashi had hung back. But now he stepped forwards and ruffled his hair.

"I'll go find Naruto" he said, following the direction his student had taken.

There was another awkward silence.

"What's with him, anyway?"

"Who?"

"Naruto"

"You broke his heart, Sasuke" he looked at her, confused. She sighed and began her explanation. "There were so many retrieval missions. So many failures. When everyone else had given up, he refused to, he kept on looking. And each time we failed, or you refused to come back, a little bit of him died."

"Oh" was all the almighty Uchiha could manage.

* * *

For the next ten minutes or so, Sakura filled Sasuke in with all that had gone on in Konoha over the years since he had left.

Until Tsunade returned. They glanced up, and looked at her questioningly.

"I've been talking to the council of elders, and they've agreed to allow Sasuke back into Konoha."

"That's great" Sakura interrupted.

"But! You'll be under house arrest for as long as they deem fit." He nodded, showing that he understood.

"Now be gone, I tire of your presence." She said sarcastically. "Oh, and they're on the roof."

Together, they made their way to the roof of the building, where the rest of the recently reunited Team 7 was sat in companionable silence.

Naruto jumped up.

"Sasuke! I'm sorry about earlier, I, uh, had something really important I had to do" he finished lamely.

"Hn" was the only reply he got. They sat there well into the afternoon. Naruto tried making conversation with Sasuke, but he was unresponsive.

Eventually Naruto said that he was tired, and made his way back to his flat.

It was not long after that when the others all went their separate ways.

* * *

He approached the abandoned house slowly. He carefully put the key in the old, rusted lock, and the door swung open.

The place was exactly as he had left it; nothing had been touched, or moved. In fact, it looked as if he could have only left yesterday, if it wasn't for the thin layering of dust that covered everything.

He took a deep breath. It had been so long since he had last been here. The place was filled with so many memories, they all cam rushing forwards at once.

He went to the kitchen, and placed the bags of shopping he had just bought gently down on the table.

He opened the cupboards one by one, just like everything else in the house the contents were covered in dust. Sighing, he decided to skip dinner, washing the dishes just seemed like to much effort.

Instead he left the kitchen, and found himself in the overgrown garden. He sat down, amongst the long, uncut grass.

Staring at the sky, he was shocked to see that it was already dark. The stars were out, and he couldn't help but think how beautiful they looked.

A cloud shifted, and just like the previous night, he was washed in its milky light. In the peaceful evening, he found his thoughts retracing the day's events.

What Sakura had said had shocked him. He had been unable to continue any of the conversation's Naruto kept striking up, he just felt to guilty for what he had done to who he had always considered his best friend.

_I just hope he doesn't think I was being cold._

* * *

Naruto was sat in his usual place on the window sill.

How often he had sat there, looking at the stars, and wondered if, somewhere, Sasuke was doing the same. How often he had sat there, and hoped for his safe return.

And now that he was back, he didn't know what to think. He so wanted things to return to way they were.

Whenever he had thought of Sasuke, he had longed for him to return, longed for friendship. And yet, when he had looked in his onyx eyes, it wasn't friendship he saw, but coldness.

He was so confused, he didn't know what to think anymore. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

"Why did Kakashi-Sensei want us to meet here, of all places" Naruto whined. They were at a clearing surrounded by trees, in the centre were three stumps of wood, and not far from them was the stone, engraved with the heroes of Konoha's names.

"I don't know, Naruto, we'll just have to wait and see." came Sakura's exasperated reply. Sasuke smirked, _same old impatient Naruto. _

With that, Kakashi arrived.

"You're late!" came the expected shouts from his students.

"Yea well, you see, there was this black cat" he trailed of "Hang on a minute, I don't have to explain myself to you guys. Anyway, do you guys remember the first day as Team 7? Good. Do you all remember the bell test? Good." He said, pulling out a pair of identical bells.

"Will you be okay to join in, Naruto"

"Yeah, I'm all better now, I'm only surprised they didn't heal quicker" he said loudly, smiling brilliantly. With that, Kakashi nodded, and darted off.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other. This would be their third bell test, and they had passed the last one. The only thing was, they didn't have Icha Icha Paradise to distract their perverted teacher with this time. They would have to come up with a different plan.

But looking up, they were surprised to see that Sasuke had already gone. They sighed in unison, _would he never learn?_

Looking around, they found their team mate. Running over to the three posts where Sasuke was opposite Kakashi, in a fighting stance.

They stopped a few feet away from the scene. Just before Sasuke could start his attack,

"Stop!" Kakashi shouted. He walked forwards, and grabbed his student by the arm, tying to the post before he even had chance to blink.

"I have no doubt that you could have defeated me, but it seems that in your years with him, Orochimaru forgot to teach you one valuable lesson" he smirked at the confused look on the usually impassive Uchiha.

"What's the first lesson I taught you guys" he asked.

"Teamwork" came Sakura and Naruto's harmonious reply.

"Right you are" they all laughed as Sasuke hung his head in shame.

kekekek just had to put that ending in.

Sorry about all the scene changes.

Reviewys make me work all the more harder

I hope you enjoyed it, please tell me if you have any ideas of what you would like to see coming up.

Laters.


	5. A Night Time Visitor

Yo guys, here we have it, another chapter.

Hope you guys all had a fab eater .

I put the rating up to M cos of this chap. I'll warn you now, it has rap, incredibly bady written rape, but rape non-the-less.

Disclaimer - I still don't own Naruto

enjoy

* * *

**Guardian Angel – A Night Time Visitor**

The next few weeks passed by in a blur. Nothing really changed for Naruto, the villagers still abused him at every possible chance they got.

Sasuke wasn't aloud to leave the Uchiha residence until the council deemed it okay, so things carried on the same as before.

It had been about a month since his return that he was aloud back to Team 7, and to resume his duties as a ninja of Konoha.

So, on September the first, Sasuke met with his old team just outside of Konoha's gates.

"Ne, Ne, Kakashi-Sensei, what mission do we have today?" the blonde boy bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Well, we have to find Lady Shijimi's cat, Tora, and return it to her." He cringed at the expected onslaught of groans.

"What! But we were doing that when we were twelve!" was Sasuke's outraged reply.

"Yeah, well, some of us never ran away with creepy people obsessed with snakes and became Chuunin."

The raven headed boy spun round to face Naruto, and raised a hand, as if to strike him. The boy flinched away, fear in his eyes.

Sasuke's hand fell down to his side. He was confused, he had never seen Naruto react this way before, and it wasn't like they had never fought.

There was an awkward moment, while Naruto shuffled uncomfortably under Sasuke's questioning gaze.

"Okay, let's get going," said Kakashi, breaking the tense silence. With that the ninja team began searching the forest.

Naruto was in deep conversation with Kakashi, talking animatedly about god-knows-what. Meanwhile, Sasuke was trailing behind, questioning Sakura.

"What was all that about?" he asked, catching the Kunoichi of guard.

"Huh? What?" she looked up, confusion written across her features.

"Naruto" he said bluntly.

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that"

"I don't know, he always reacts that way, it's gradually gotten worse. I personally think it's the villagers, beating him up, but he won't admit it, and it's never when we're around" she was looking the ground guiltily.

"Why? They never did before"

"Well, I guess it was when he couldn't bring the much loved, last of the Uchiha's back" her words stung, and stopped, feeling like this was all his fault. "But don't say anything about it Naruto, it always makes him angry."

"Yo guys, stop slacking, we found Tora already, we had better head back and return him to his owner."

"Yes Kakashi-Sensei" they chorused, and pooffed to the village.

* * *

Naruto was sat on the wide window sill in the Hokage's office. His eyelids felt heavy, all he wanted was to sleep.

_Urg, what's with me, why have I been so tired lately?_

He felt his eyes closing.

Sasuke was complaining about the mission they had been assigned.

"Uchiha! Your position in this village is precarious, do you really think you can complain?" she looked angry, very angry. She clicked her knuckles, as if in preparation.

"Urm…Tsunade-Sama" stuttered Sakura.

"Yes?" She said, rounding on her student, anger seeping from her every pore. She shivered, _Oh God, does she look angry._

"Well, Naruto appears to have fallen asleep." She smiled sweetly at her.

"Oh" she blinked, and looked to the window sill, where Naruto was called up in a ball. Kakashi stood over him, worried.

Sasuke, too, looked over, and couldn't help but think how cute he looked when asleep.

Concerned, Tsunade crouched down beside him, and placed her hand on his arm.

"Naruto," she called softly, "Wake up, Naruto"

There was a small groan, and Naruto's arm moved up, his hand rubbed across his eyes. Gradually awareness came to him, and he jerked upright.

"I, uh…" but she waved away his excuses.

"Can you please leave me talk to Naruto alone?" it wasn't a question, it was an order. So with that, the others left her office.

As the door banged shut, she turned to look at the squirming blonde boy.

He was staring at his hands, fidgeting under her gaze.

"Naruto, are you feeling okay?" she asked concerned.

"I'm fine, Tsunade-Baachan, honest." He smiled at her, his bright blue glinting in the sunlight.

"I'm not falling for that" she tried not to sound to stern. He sighed.

"I've just been so tired recently." Again, he fiddled with his hands.

"Anything else?" she asked

"What is this, the inquisition?" he laughed nervously.

"Just answer the question." She tried not to sound too harsh.

He sighed and hung his head. He reached up and unzipped his orange jacket, slipping it off his shoulders. He then pulled of the black tee-shirt that he wore underneath. During this display, she looked at him curiously, wondering what on earth he could be getting at.

He looked at her, understood the confusion in her eyes.

"The cut" he gestured to his chest.

"What about it?" she said, feeling stupid.

"Well, usually it would have healed by now, I've had it at least a week." He explained. It was from one of the villagers.

_Strange. Kyuubi usually would have healed it by now. _

She gestured for him to come closer. She grabbed his arm, and held it out. Before he was even aware what was happening, she had inserted a syringe into his arm, and it was filling with his crimson blood.

He glared at her.

"Shizune!" she called loudly, her assistant came scurrying to receive her orders, "Take this blood to the labs."

She glared at the blonde boy sat on her windowsill. Slowly, he looked up, sensing her anger. Big mistake, her fist collided with his chin.

"What…what was that for?" he stuttered.

"Simply put, for being so stupid." She sat at her desk, and began shuffling papers.

"What do you eat, Naruto?" The question took him off guard.

"Well, ramen, mainly the instant kind" he said, confirming what she already expected.

"That is not a balanced diet." She said seriously. He looked down at the floor, muttering.

"Yeah, well, it's all I can afford" but with her super hearing, she heard perfectly well what he said.

"Yes, Sakura told me about that. No. Don't be angry with her, she was worried about you, we all are. You know, you can just give us the money to buy you food." He was almost surprised at how concerned she sounded.

"I didn't want to be a bother" he mumbled.

"Oh phooey, we'd all rather you had proper food, and didn't become malnourished."

"There's just one problem." She nodded, encouraging him to go on, he took breath, preparing himself, "Well, you see, my landlord has a habit of turning of the heating sometimes, other times heating, or water"

She looked aghast, "I think we'll be having words with this landlord of yours, now go, Iruka wants to see you."

* * *

The blonde boy didn't have to go far before he found his old Sensei. In fact, he had just left the Hokage's office, when he walked right into him. Literally, he was just knocking on the door.

"Ah, Naruto-Kun, just the person I was looking for." He said, smiling. And so they left the building together.

"I was thinking maybe you'd like to go Ichiraku's, on Me." said Iruka, looking down at Naruto.

"I'd love to, but, I've already been there this week."

"I wouldn't have thought that would have stopped you." But one look at Naruto told him not to push the matter, "Well, we can go somewhere else then. What do you want?"

"Well, umm, I can't really go anywhere else." He looked nervously at Iruka, and noting his confused expression, he began to explain.

"Ichiraku's is the only place that will serve me. But when I'm there, nobody else will come in. And I don't like going too often, 'cause I'm afraid that if I do, than people will eventually stop going."

He sighed, "I guess I'll just have to rustle something up then" he changed direction, and led Naruto to his house.

* * *

Naruto sighed and fell back onto his bed. The evening had passed by in a blur of happiness. Iruka-Sensei had made him a delicious dinner of homemade Sushi, too someone who lives of instant ramen, it was a feast.

He was pleasantly stuffed, and it made him feel sleepy. In no time at all, he was asleep.

* * *

There was the soft pad of footsteps in his room. His eyelids fluttered open, and there, stood over him, was the landlord.

He had a murderous look. Naruto tried to jump up, only to find that his hands were tied to the bed posts. He pulled on them, hard, only to feel a hand collide with his whiskered cheek.

"I hear you've been telling tales on me, brat" he said softly, straddling the blondes chest. At this he began struggling harder, but that angered him more. He was beginning to get rope burn on his wrists.

Another slap. _Shit! _Naruto was scared, he had never gone as far as this. Fear made his heart beat faster, it was pounding against his rib cage.

The mans hand moved up to his face, and brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. It moved down and began unzipping his orange jumpsuit. He pulled out a knife, and used it to tear his black tee-shirt.

In the process he snagged his skin, opening up a previous cut. Blood began to seep out.

He began to kick, but this was followed by his legs being bound to the bed. _Shit!_

The landlord straddled him again. A single tear leaked out of his azure eyes. The man bent down, and licked it away. His hands brushed down Naruto's chest, tracing the contours of his body.

His head followed his hands, and, using his teeth, he unzipped the now shaking boy's trousers, and pulled them down, revealing a pair of green boxers.

By this point Naruto was petrified, but was too afraid of what would happen to cry out. His eyes widened as his boxers were slowly pulled down, and he was lying on his back, wearing only the necklace given to him by Tsunade.

The man looked at him triumphantly before pulling down his own trousers. He undid the bindings around his ankles, and lay on top of the petrified blonde.

Again he traced his hands down the boy's body, stopping when he reached his hips. He pulled him in close. He thrust into him, and Naruto screamed as pain shot through his body.

But that just succeeded in turning the man on even more, as he thrust into him again.

Each time a fresh wave of pain washed over him, and he swam in and out of consciousness.

Eventually he stood up, and pulled his trousers back on.

"That'll teach you to tattle." He sneered, and stumbled from the room.

With that Naruto passed out.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Naruto woke up. The sky was dark, telling him it was the middle of the night. The ropes had come undone as he moved about in his sleep, he gave a weak tug, and they came undone.

He looked down at his body, and realised that he had no clothes on. He began to shake as the events of the night came back to him. He looked at his legs, they were covered in blood and semen.

He has to get out of there.

Slowly, he stood up. But as he did so, pain shot through his body. He collapsed on the wooden floor. And that was where he stayed, legs folded under him, dull, lifeless eyes, staring at the floor.

That was really bad, i know, but it was my 1st rape scene. And I did research into signs of malnuritment, but we'll just ignore all the ones I didn't include, just the ones that work to the story line XD kekekek

But I hope you all enjoyed that guys. Please review, they make me happy. Happy me makes for fanfic updates XD

love love

laters.


	6. Days After

Hey, sorry it's so short, 485 words or summin, it's miniscule, but it's kinda just like a link chapter.

Disclaimer - Don't own Naruto :(

Thank you all my lovely reviewers, they made me happy

Enjoy.

**

* * *

**

Guardian Angel – Chapter 6

**– Days After**

Naruto's legs had fallen asleep, but he didn't notice; His mind was as numb as his limbs. The horrific events of the night kept replaying themselves in his mind.

He was staring at the floor; his face was sticky with all the tears he had shed. _I suppose I should be going to training. I wonder if they'll notice if I'm not there. Of course not, who would care about filth like me?_

* * *

(Day after previous chapter)

Sasuke and Sakura where stood by the bridge where they had agreed to meet. Sasuke was getting fed up. _Why isn't Naruto here yet, I was going to ask him to come to Ichiraku's with me._ He huffed angrily.

Kakashi appeared with a puff, hand raised in greeting. _I hope he's okay, being later than Kakashi can't be a good sign._

They waited there for a while.

"Um…Kakashi-Sensei, do you think Naruto-Kun is okay?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Well he didn't look to good yesterday. Perhaps he's ill. He's knows where to find us if he does come though" and with that he turned to go to the training ground.

The raven headed boy looked up to the sky, _you better be okay, dobe. _

* * *

For three days the blonde haired boy stayed like that, his blue eyes dull.

He drifted in and out of sleep. His slumber was filled with nightmares, that left him shivering, but his waking moments were filled with the memories, in his unresponsive, almost vegetated, state, he didn't know which was worse.

He imagined getting up, going to training, doing normal, everyday things. In reality, he stayed on the floor, the images of that night playing trough his mind like a video stuck on repeat, crying a fresh flood of tears.

* * *

Iruka was more than worried. Three days, and no-one had seen Naruto. Kakashi was trying to calm him down.

"We'll go and see him now then, but you know Naruto, he's probably going to be digging into some ramen." He said kindly.

"Yeah, I know, I still want to see him though, if just to check that he's okay."

And so together, they made their way to his apartment.

It took them no time at all to get there. Raising his hand, Iruka knocked on the door. No reply. Raising his hand, he knocked again, harder.

The minutes ticked by. As time passed and no hyperactive blonde answered the door, Iruka really began to panic.

"I'm going in." he said, and slowly, he pushed the unlocked door open.

* * *

Naruto heard the knocks, but they didn't register in his mind.

He heard the door open. He heard the faltering footsteps as they made their way to his room. But there was nothing that he could do; he couldn't make his body move.

_No, I can't let them see me this way._ He thought faintly.

He heard their shocked gasps.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please reveiw

Till next time

-dissapears-


	7. Moving

Woot finally an update. I'm SOOOO sorry it took me SOOOO long (22 days Shock horror) Just please don't kill me. At least its about twice as long as all my others

So I'm definately aloud to go to London MCM Expo now: Day 1 - Sora (yay an excuse to be anoying)

Day 2 - Kisame (yay an excuse to be blue)

so if ya going or see me, give me a shout.

Disclaimer - don't own Naruto :(

**Guardian Angel – Chapter 7 – Moving**

Slowly, Iruka and Kakashi walked towards the bedroom. As they approached the entrance to the room, Iruka covered his eyes with his hand, dreading what he was about to see.

He slowly dropped his hand. And gasped. He hadn't known what to expected, but it wasn't this.

The blonde boy he had begun to see as a son was sat with his legs under his body and eyes downcast. The bottom half of his body was covered with blood and semen, the room stank of this and urine.

"Naruto?" there was no reply, "Shit, Kakashi, get a sheet on him, he must be freezing." There was no window, and the boy had no clothing on.

Kakashi handed him a sheet, and he wrapped it around him, before picking him up, his head resting against his chest. The boy flinched away from the touch.

"Who did this to you?" It was the first time Kakashi spoke since entering the flat. But no answer came, as he had already passed out. He rested his hand on Iruka's shoulder, he nodded, and they left the flat.

* * *

Tsunade groaned and rested her head on the desk in front of her, there was an empty bottle of sake in her hand.

_I suppose it's time I got on with that paperwork_, she turned her head to look at the teetering pile of papers beside her.

She sat up and cocked her head as she was disturbed by a commotion outside. She stood up, as the door was flung open.

Her angry remark died on her lips as she saw what was in the doorway.

It was Kakashi and Iruka, in the brown haired mans arm was a precious bundle, and though it was wrapped in a blanket, she could tell perfectly well what it was.

"Naruto!?" she said, running over and taking him from Iruka's arms, she gently placed him on the sofa in the corner of the office.

She began yelling out orders, all the while checking all of his vitals.

Three nurses ran in, bringing in medical equipment with them, and before the two shinobi could say **Believe it!** Naruto had been whisked away.

* * *

The slow, steady beat of the heart monitor was the one thing keeping Iruka awake. After Naruto had been taken from the office, Tsunade had questioned them on what had happened, they told her all they knew, but even that was little.

The Hokage was fuming, shortly after this she had left to take over the healing of the boy. It was the middle of the night, three hours since they had found him.

She had wheeled him in on a gurney. There were big, black bags under her eyes, but she had stormed out, saying to keep an eye on him, as her work wasn't done. That had been an hour ago.

Iruka was staring intently at Naruto's whiskered face, looking for any kind of sign of life. Kakashi quietly stood by him and gently put his hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and smiled, seeing his face reflected in the one visible eye.

The strange serenity and calm of the hospital room was broken as heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway and burst into the room.

It was Sasuke.

His hair was ruffled, and his eyes were manic.

"Where is he? What happened? Is he okay?" all of the questions tumbled out at the same time, all in one breath.

The two other occupants of the room looked at him, startled. Kakashi smirked underneath his mask.

The Uchiha caught sight of the sleeping form, and made his way to the bed. He knelt down in order to be on a level with Naruto.

Raising his hand, he brushed a strand of blonde hair out of the unconscious boy's eye.

A few moments passed as he stared tenderly at the still form. A quiet cough brought him back to reality.

He closed his eyes and slowly stood up. He turned around. Kakashi and Iruka were smiling at him suspiciously.

He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I, uh, I…was just wondering…uh…how He was." He mumbled, causing his teachers to smile.

"Sorry, didn't hear, what was that, Sasuke?" he smirked putting his hand behind his ear. Iruka looked at him as if to say 'don't tease him!'

"Is he okay?" he repeated, glaring. At this they grew serious, and the light hearted atmosphere of the room suddenly darkened considerably.

"Um…well…he seems to be recovering, slower than usual, but recovering non-the-less." Replied Iruka, moving closer to the raven haired boy, resting his hand on his shoulder.

Slowly Sasuke nodded, his onyx eyes never leaving Naruto's face.

Sasuke stayed in that hospital room for most of the day. Iruka came and left a couple of times. Sakura had come bursting in, demanding to know how he was, but she too had had to leave. Every hour on the hour, and then whenever she had a spare moment, Tsunade would come bustling in, to check on the patient.

Eventually night came, and the nurses politely asked him to leave. He politely refused, saying that he would rather stay with Naruto. Until Tsunade came in and demanded that he left, saying that he could return early the next morning, and that someone would come to find him if there were any changes in his condition, or he woke.

Sighing, he left the hospital, to return to his empty house.

* * *

Tsunade sighed and held her head in her hands. There was an empty bottle of sake in her hands. Silent sobs racked her body. _How could I let this happen to Naruto? Who did this to him? _Though she already knew the answer.

She began making arrangements for him to move.

* * *

Sasuke flicked the switch by his hand, and watched as the entrance hall to his large house was flooded with light. He kicked the front door shut behind him.

He stumped up the spiralling staircase to his bedroom, and flopped onto his bed. His hands balled into fists as he clutched the black sheets.

He shut his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek, and dripped of his chin.

Images of Naruto flashed through his mind. Their first day as Team 7. Naruto laughing, crying, yelling and angry, all the different emotions that Sasuke had ever witnessed.

He saw Naruto as he was when he had first returned to Konoha; his cerulean eyes filled with years of hurt.

And as he had last seen him, lying unconscious, battered, in a hospital bed. It made the Uchiha angry to think that someone would do that to anyone, especially the one that he had grown to realise he loved.

And so Sasuke fell asleep, with thoughts of Naruto, and the one word, love resounding through the caverns of his mind.

* * *

The sun was streaming through the spotless glass of the hospital window. Sasuke glanced at the clock hanging on the white walls. Half three. He had been there since seven in the morning, refusing to leave Naruto's side, except for toilet breaks.

The blonde boy's eyelids fluttered, and for a moment Sasuke thought that he was finally going to wake, but they stayed closed, and the heart monitor continued with its steady beating.

* * *

For three days Sasuke kept his bedside vigil. His mind was beginning to wander from lack of stimulating activities in the bare room.

He was jolted out of his reverie when he heard a small moan from the bed beside him. He looked down at Naruto, as the blonde boy shifted beneath the white covers.

He ran to the door and started shouting for a nurse. Moments later Tsunade came bursting into the room.

"Uchiha! There better be a good reason for all this commotion you're causing!" he gestured to the figure on the bed, and with a gasp she ran over.

She stood over him, Sasuke hovering over her shoulder. She softly called his name. He scrunched his eyes up and groaned, before finally opening them.

"It's good to have you back with us. Now how are you feeling?"

* * *

Naruto was swimming in darkness, he noticed a pinprick of bright light, and it hurt his eyes, sensitive from recent lack of light. He began to move towards it.

Slowly he could feel himself coming out of the depths of blackness that he had been drifting in. He could feel bright light seeping through his eyelids. He groaned and closed them tighter.

When he finally opened them, all he could see was white.

"It's good to have you back with us. Now how are you feeling?" came a dis-bodied voice. With it he became aware of Tsunade, though he could only see her head swimming in all the whiteness.

He tried to sit up, but felt firm hands pushing him down.

"Not yet you don't" as he was becoming more aware of his surroundings, he realised that there was someone else in the room, hovering over Tsunade's shoulder, only he couldn't quite work out who it was.

The familiar smell of strong disinfectant hit his nostrils. He realised that he was in the hospital, with a gasp the memories of that night came flooding back. _Shit, please, please, don't already know what happened _he prayed silently.

"Who did this to you, dobe?" shocked, he realised that it was Sasuke. As this dawned on him, more of the room became visible to him. Tsunade now had a torso, down to her waist, and he could all of Sasuke, that wasn't hidden behind Tsunade.

He sighed in relief as he realised that they didn't know what had happened. There came a slightly frustrated sigh.

"How are you feeling?" came an almost impatient sounding question.

Naruto opened his mouth, but only a croak came out. Someone held a glass of cold water with a straw to his lips, craning his head forward, he took a long drink from it.

When he had finished drinking he flopped back onto the bed, and closed his eyes.

"Fine." He finally mumbled in response. They looked at him as if they didn't really believe him.

"I've just gotta go check on something. Uchiha, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Tsunade said, as she left the hospital room.

There was an awkward silence in the room. Sasuke slowly walked to the bedside chair and sat down. His arms were folded across his chest, and his gaze never once left the blonde on the bed.

"What happened?" he asked, bluntly. Blue eyes blinked, confused.

"Uh, Well, I fell…down the stairs." He stuttered.

"Do you really think I'm going to fall for that?" the question was rhetorical. "Who did it, Naruto?" he said it through clenched teeth, like he was angry.

Naruto chuckled nervously.

"I don't know what you mean, Sasuke, honest." He said quickly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he stood up.

"Naruto! Tell me!" he took step closer to the bed.

Naruto cowered under the covers, his body shaking. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, shocked at the blonde's reaction. _What's all that about? I'm only trying to help. _He thought, confused.

Tsunade came bursting in, and took in the scene with one sweep of the room. She ran over to the bed.

"It's okay Naruto." She said, resting her hand on his quivering shoulder. He flinched away from the touch. She withdrew her hand, frowning, but not saying anything on the matter.

There were a few moments of awkward silence in the room.

"So…Tsunade…did you check on whatever it was you needed too?" Sasuke asked, attempting to make conversation.

"Yes, and you'll see what it was soon enough." She said mysteriously. She carried on watching Naruto, his eyelids began to droop. It was then that she remembered that he had only just woken up, and must still be feeling very tired and weak.

"We'll be leaving you in peace then, Naruto." She said softly, turning to leave the room. "Uchiha!" she barked, he opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the look on her face, he obliged, and followed her out of the hospital room.

Naruto had indeed been beginning to drift off, and a few moments later, he was fast asleep, his blonde hair spread over the pillow, blissfully unaware of Tsunade's plans.

* * *

Sasuke was fuming, _how dare she take me away from my Naruto._

She spun around to face him, inwardly flinching at the glare he was giving her.

"Look, it's no use looking at me like that, I've a job for you to do." She stated, smirking as his expression changed from wanting to kill her, to one of curiosity.

Tsunade smirked as he scrunched his face up, before curiosity finally got the better of him. He sighed.

"What is it you want me to do?"

"Go to Naruto's flat, collected up his things, and then bring them to my office. I'll explain why then." She ordered, before giving him directions to the blonde's home.

He nodded once, before leaving the hospital.

* * *

Sasuke was making his way to Naruto's house, anticipation was making his heart pound faster, he was going to see Naruto's home, and it was a long time since he had last seen it.

He reached the bottom of the block of flats. It was in the rougher area of Konoha, it had many dark alleyways, with eerie looking dumpsters, and the place smelt of urine, everything about it seemed dank and dirty.

He pushed the battered wooden door open, and began walking up the rickety staircase. He reached the fourth floor, and made his way down the corridor. There was a hanging light bulb, flickering, like it could go of at any moment.

He stopped at the scratched and pitted door Tsunade had given him directions to. As usual, the door was unlocked. Naruto had stopped bothering to lock it, as it never stopped the villagers before.

Sasuke gently pushed the door open, the sight that met his eyes was not what he expected.

There were only three rooms in total, and none of them had doors. A kitchen-diner, which was joined with a sitting room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The flat was bare. The cupboards were hanging off their hinges, showing that they were empty. There were no tables or chairs.

Where there should off been a sofa, there were just suspicious scorch marks.

_I know it's been a long time since I was here, but I'm sure I remembered him having a sofa, and, well, more._

But the flat seemed clean and well looked after.

Moving on from where he stood by the door, he glanced into the bathroom. It was small and dismal. Deciding that there was nothing there to see, and made his way to the bedroom.

Again, the room was small. It smelled of floor cleaner, as if it had recently been cleaned. There was a small bed, that had a thin cotton blanket, which would in no way keep you warm in the summer. It was small enough to reveal the bed, which Sasuke noticed was no more than a plank of wood.

There was no glass in the window, simply a black plastic bag to keep out the light.

On the bare, grey walls, that were dripping with damp, were three hooks, each had an orange jumpsuit hanging on them.

Resting beside the bed was a picture frame, with the photograph taken of Team 7, before Sasuke had left.

He picked up the photo and hanging clothes, and deciding that these were the only possessions of Naruto's worth keeping, he left the building to return to Tsunade's office.

* * *

Sasuke was stood in front of Tsunade's large wooden desk.

"Is this all there was?" she asked, incredulously. He nodded.

"Three jumpsuits and the picture. And the only furniture he had was his bed, if that's what you could really call it."

"I guess we'll just have to sort that out as well." She muttered.

"Tsunade." She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "What are you planning?"

"Operation: Move Naruto" she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Noticing his confused expression, she began to explain.

"We're moving Naruto from where he lives now, to a new flat." She said.

"Why?" he asked, wondering if it had anything to do with him being hospitalised.

"'Cause there's no way in hell that he's staying in his present flat." She said vehemently. Sasuke was taken aback by this sudden outburst.

With that said, they began making arrangements to find some proper furnishings for his new flat.

* * *

It had been three days since Sasuke had been to Naruto's flat. He had spent most of them watching of the blonde boy, who spent most of the time sleeping, and the rest running around for Tsunade picking things up for the new flat.

For the first two days since he had first woken up, Naruto still spent most of the time sleeping. It was on the third day that he spent most of the time awake, staring blankly at the ceiling. Tsunade deemed him ready to go home.

"Tsunade says you're fit to leave, Naruto." Sasuke said, leaning against the door frame.

The boy didn't look best pleased; this was not the reaction that he had expected.

Sasuke made his way over to the bed, placing a clean orange jumpsuit on the bed.

"You can go home, isn't that what you want?" he shivered as he heard the word 'home', which the other boy didn't fail to notice. But he slowly sat up nonetheless.

Sasuke was confused by the other boy's reluctance to return home, usually he hated being in the hospital, maybe this had something to do with Tsunade moving him.

"Come on, dobe, the sooner you get home, the sooner you can resume training, and thus, finally beat Me." He mocked, smirking, trying to get a reaction, without much success, for he carried on in his unhurried pace.

He picked the clothes up off the bed, and his made his way to the small bathroom joined to the room.

In the small, white bathroom, he took off the horrible robe he had to wear, and looked down at his body, he felt dirty, and weak, if people knew, they would never look at him the same. He supposed that Tsunade already knew, being Hokage. He hated that thought.

He could hear Sasuke outside, beginning to get impatient, and quickly dressed, hurrying back.

But spending so many days in bed, these sudden movements had already tired him out. Back in the room, he stumbled over to the bed, and flopped down.

"Naruto!" he jumped forwards.

He waved his hand slightly pathetically.

"I'm fine Sasuke, fine, just a little tired, 's all." He mumbled. But the raven looked at him worriedly.

But before he could press the matter, Tsunade came bustling into the room.

"Right Naruto, are you ready?" she asked. He nodded slowly and stood up, swaying slightly with the effort.

Again, Sasuke jumped forwards and caught his arm, but the blonde shook him off.

"Here." She said, holding out a pair of crutches she had been holding under her arm, "Use these."

"I'm fine." He replied sullenly.

"Look, it's that, or I get the Uchiha to carry you." She said, knowing what his reaction to that would be.

But instead of the outraged explosion she had expected, he gently took the crutches from her and made his way to the door.

Tsunade looked across to the other boy and raised one eyebrow, he shrugged his shoulders. _He's not acting normal, _she thought.

Looking up, they realised that he was already leaving the room. They hurried to catch up with the hobbling boy.

"Wait up, Naruto."

"Huh?"

"We're coming with you, dobe." Answered the raven.

"But I can find my own way home." He muttered.

The only reply he got was the two others over taking him, leading him out of the hospital.

* * *

It took them longer then usual to get through the village, as Naruto had to stop every now and again for a breather.

They reached a cross-road, and Tsunade took the lead down one of the roads.

"But, Tsunade, I don't live that way, I live in the other direction." Naruto said, confused.

"You do now." She said simply, taking note of the lack of '-Baachan'. His confusion only deepened.

He followed them down the road, they hadn't gone far before Tsunade stopped in front of a block of flats.

She opened the front door, and led them up four flights of steps. She stopped in front of a clean, white door, with a shiny brass handle.

Handing him a key, she said "Open it."

He looked at her questioningly and slowly took the silver key from her outstretched palm. He cautiously put it in the lock, and twisted it. With a click the door swung open.

The layout of the flat was the same as his old one. The walls were all painted white. There was a two seater sofa, an arm chair and a small oak coffee table.

He turned to face Tsunade, looking at her questioningly.

"It's yours." She said, smiling.

"But I can't afford this." He said, dismayed.

"It's on me, I'm Hokage, or had you forgotten that." She replied, a vein in the side of her head twitching.

"B…But why?" he stuttered.

"'Cause I'm not letting you go back to that place" she growled.

His eyes widened, shocked at this sign of affection. He slowly turned around, and limped to the kitchen part. He opened a cupboard it was full of food.

He felt a hand resting gently on his shoulder.

"That should last you a week at least."

Dropping his crutches, he turned around, and fell into Tsunade's arms, surprising her. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you." He whispered, tears streaming down his face, soaking her shoulders. She gently rubbed his back.

But this rare tender moment was interrupted as they were joined by three other people.

"Hi! Naruto" chirped the pink haired Kunoichi. He slowly un-draped his arms ad pulled away from Tsunade. He sniffed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"We thought we'd through a 'welcome to your new home' party." Said Kakashi, pushing past Sakura and seating himself on the sofa.

Iruka just smiled and made his way to the kitchen, turning on the oven.

"I thought I'd rustle something up." He said, beginning to explore the cupboards.

There were a few moments of awkward silence before everyone settled in and began talking. Sakura was merrily chatting away, and even Sasuke was joining in. Every now and again Iruka would give his own comments from the kitchen. All in all, everyone seemed happy enough.

Everyone except one person.

Naruto.

The blond didn't once join in the conversation, but instead appeared to be in his own world. The other occupants of the room noticed this, but let it slide.

At least, for a while.

"Naruto, are you okay?" It was Tsunade who asked. He nodded slowly.

"Well, you're awfully quiet."

"I'm just thinking, 's all." He muttered, getting up and going to his new bedroom. She sighed heavily. Sasuke went to go and follow him, but she shook her head.

"Give him time, he'll come round eventually." He sat back down, glaring at the door that had been closed on them.

Naruto was looking around the room in awe. There was an oak wardrobe, and when he opened it, it had his other three orange jumpsuits, and a few other garments, which he realised someone must have brought.

Not only that, but there was proper window, with glass, and thick black curtains to keep the light out.

He sat on the bed, the mattress was thick and springy, and there was a tick, orange duvet. It was all so much more than he had ever had before.

There was a small bedside table, with a cupboard and drawer. Resting on the top was a polished picture frame, protecting the photo taken of Team 7.

He sank down on the bed, burying his face in the pillow. Though he tried to stop them, he felt tears begin to make their way down his face.

_How can anyone be this nice, let alone with me. _He thought, by now they were running thick and fast.

He felt the bed shift under him at the added weight of a new presence. A warm hand rested on the back of his head.

He flinched away at the touch, almost falling off the bed. Iruka quickly stood up, trying not to frighten the boy.

"Shh…It's okay, Naruto, it's just me." He assured the blonde boy.

He was huddled against the head board of the bed, quivering.

As Iruka soothed him, he began to relax. The older man cautiously perched on the edge of the bed, his eyes never leaving the others face.

He was shocked at the blonde's reaction; he had never seen him behaving like this before.

"Oh Naruto, what did that man do to you?" he sighed, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes.

The brilliant blue eyes widened in shock. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out.

"You know" he managed to whisper.

"It was us that found that." Was the soft reply.

"U…Us?" he stuttered.

"Yea, Us." Was the soft reply from the door. Looking up, Naruto was shocked to see that Kakashi stood there, a serious look in his eyes.

Naruto's heart sank, Iruka he could handle knowing, but not Kakashi.

He looked to the door, to the room that Sasuke was in, panic obvious in his eyes. They understood what he meant.

"It's okay Naruto, we won't tell them if you don't want us to." Kakashi said, moving further into the room, till he was stood behind Iruka, hand resting on his shoulder.

"But Naruto," Iruka continued, "If you ever need to talk, about anything, we're here for you."

He nodded his blonde head, feeling tears begin to leak out at other people's kindness again. Because the truth was, he knew that they were telling the truth, they wouldn't tell his secret to anyone, and he knew that he could rely on them in the future.

So yea, I hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews and such get much love.


	8. Discoveries

So chapter 8 is **finaly **up, it's only taken me what, 2 months. im so so so **VERY** sorry for the wait, and I suppode I don't really have a proper excuse, but I can try XD you see, I had to donate my laptop to the 'laptops for poor little abandoned foxes' cause, and I only just got it back.

Disclaimer - Toasted Neko does not own Naruto or the characters, and everything she thinks she owns, infact belong to her dear friends rabbit.

Please enjoy.

**

* * *

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Guardian Angel – Chapter 8

**– Discovery **

Naruto was looking up at the white ceiling above of him. He smiled and snuggled deeper into the bed, he couldn't remember the last he had felt so comfortable.

There was a sudden knock on his flat door. Sighing, he got up, putting on a forest green dressing gown, and opened the door.

Stood on his door step was the raven headed Uchiha.

"About time to." He muttered, barging past him into the flat.

Closing the door, the blonde turned back around to watch Sasuke as he made himself comfortable on his sofa.

Sighing he went to the small kitchenette, and put the kettle on. He put some slices of bread in the toaster, before he heard the sound of the kettle finishing boiling.

Grabbing two mugs, he made some herbal tea for himself and Sasuke. By the time he was done doing that, the bread was lightly toasted, he put two buttered pieces on a plate for Sasuke and one on a plat for himself.

He carried them over to the sofa, handing Sasuke his, before beginning his meagre breakfast.

He was perched right on the edge of the sofa, as much space as possible between him and the other teen.

But being unused to eating a large dinner, and then having breakfast, he managed only to eat half of the slice of toast. So he put the plate on the coffee table and turned his attention to the steaming mug of tea.

Ten minutes of silence passed, before Sasuke gave a gentle cough, as if to remind the other of his presence.

"So, uh, why exactly are you here?" came the faltering question.

"To baby sit you." He smirked.

"But I don't need babysitting," was his exasperated reply.

The Uchiha nodded at him with mock sadness in his eyes.

"Oh, but you do."

"Says who?"

"Tsunade" He smirked.

"But, but, but I don't need babysitting." He angrily repeated.

"Well, my job description says that I must keep a general eye on you, make sure that you okay etcetera, and make sure that you eat every few hours." His smirk spread, he seemed to be enjoying taunting Naruto.

"But I don't ne--, wait, what do you mean, 'make sure that I eat every few hours'?"

He sighed.

"You're malnourished, Naruto, and we have to do something about that." He said not unkindly, "Tsunade doubts that you could manage a large meal, so she says that you have to eat little and often, until you can eat larger meals, spaced further apart."

Naruto looked at him as if he had grown an extra head, his mouth hanging slightly open. It closed with a snap.

"Whatever." He muttered, going to his bedroom to get dressed.

* * *

He left the bedroom, in his usual garb of an orange jumpsuit.

He hovered in the doorway, watching Sasuke. He wasn't doing much, just sitting on the sofa, twiddling his thumbs. There were a few minutes of awkwardness, before Naruto asked,

"So what are you going to do today?"

"Depends," here he paused and glanced at the blonde, "on what you're doing."

"Well, I was, uh, hoping to go to my old flat." He muttered, eyes flickering around the room, looking anywhere but at Sasuke.

Though he did not know what had occurred there just a short while a go, he got the indescribable feeling that this was not a very good idea. Though, he did not voice his concerns, and instead opened the door, and indicated for Naruto to lead the way.

* * *

The blond was incredibly quiet as he lead Sasuke through Konoha, and the young prodigy did not fail to notice the cruel glares directed at Naruto.

It took them about ten minutes to walk to the old flat. There was obvious tension between the two, it was as if they wanted to say something, but didn't quite know what. When they reached the entrance to the building that housed the flat, Naruto paused at the entrance, and took a deep breath, as if readying himself for something. As if he was fighting some inner struggle of contrasting views.

Eventually he made up his mind, and pushed the door open, making his way into the building. Hesitantly, he climbed the stairs.

It wasn't long before the two teens were stood outside of the flat. He raised his hand to open the unlocked door, his hand faltering halfway. He turned.

"I won't be long, Sasuke." He muttered, before turning back.

He scoffed in reply, "You think I'm staying out here, no chance, I'm com-" but the anguished look on his face stopped him before he could finish.

"Please, Sasuke" he pleaded.

Stunned, he found himself nodding, though it went against his better judgement.

Nodding in thanks, he made his way into his old residence.

The flat was entirely empty, it look quite eerie, the bare floor boards, covered in a thin layer of dust.

He cautiously tapped open the door to his bedroom, and entered, eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened them.

This room, too, was empty, the little furniture that had originally occupied it cleared away. It had also been cleaned, the floor scrubbed at, though there was still a dark patch from the soapy water on the normally pale wooden floor.

Flashes of memory invaded his mind, he felt his knees buckle, and he crashed to the ground, a strangled sob escaping from between his tightly clenched teeth. The tears began to fall thick and fast.

Time seemed to slow down, moving at the speed of thick treacle.

After an unknown time, he felt strong arms surrounding him, and began to panic, thrashing madly about.

He felt his body become paralysed, and before he could do anything, he had passed out.

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.

* * *

From his position outside the door, Sasuke heard a loud thump, followed by a heart wrenching cry.

He burst through the scared wooden door, and glancing around the room to get his bearings, he ran to what he knew to be the bedroom, almost tearing the door of its hinges in his haste.

Naruto was in the foetal position on the floor. He quietly approached, and pulled his shaking form close to his chest.

This didn't seem to help the situation; he began thrashing madly, limbs flailing in different directions.

He clamped his arms down with his hands and sat on his legs to keep him still, and after a moment he was still, his body flopping in his strong arms.

Sasuke held the fragile frame to him, and carefully stood up, not failing to notice that the boy was too thin, he could feel his bones through the thin material of the tracksuit.

Taking to the rooftops in order to avoid be jostled by the crowd in the busy village, he had reached Naruto's new apartment in no time at all.

Jumping through the window, he gently placed him on the bed, pulling the thick duvet over him.

Bringing a chair in from the kitchenette, he placed it beside the bed, to watch over his friend before he woke.

In the calm of the quiet room, he felt his thoughts begin to drift towards where he had left of from just a few days ago.

Love.

The word had many meanings. The love of an inanimate object, perhaps sentimental, or simply a favourite food, like how Naruto loved his ramen.

The love of a friendship and loyalty, community, equality and familiarity. The way, not matter how badly he was treated, Naruto felt towards the Village.

Unconditional love, the love of a parent and a child. Something he himself had lost, something that he knew Naruto had never had.

And, the other kind of love. Of giving yourself to someone completely, of wanting to protect that person, not because you have to, but because you want to. He felt that he wanted to protect Naruto, but did that mean that he loved the blonde, in the way that that implied.

His thought trail came to an end as he heard a groan coming from the bed.

* * *

His eyes felt like they were glued together, as he felt himself drifting up from the depth of his mind as his body regained consciousness, it felt like he was swimming in custard.

Eventually his eyes came unstuck, and he found himself in the still unfamiliar room that he knew to be his. He looked to the side, seeing Sasuke sat there, carefully scrutinising his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, letting hid concern lace his tone.

Naruto slowly nodded his head, which made him feel nauseous, and he opened his mouth to speak the affirmative, only to clamp his jaw shut, pressing his hand to his mouth.

He leaped out of the bed, and flew to the bathroom, before you could say believe it!

He doubled over the toilet emptying the contents of his stomach when he felt the Ravens hand rubbing soothing circles in his back. He closed his eyes, and slumped over the toilet seat, all the strength having drained itself from his still weakened body.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke repeated. Without moving from his position, Naruto nodded slowly. He began to stand, and swayed when he reached his feet.

The Uchiha slipped an arm through his, and slowly led him back to the bedroom, gently lowering him onto the bed. Shuffling up, Naruto sat with his back to the head rest, knees pulled up to his chest.

"So are you going to tell me what that was all about," he said it as a statement, not as a question, but nevertheless the blonde did not answer, but just stared sullenly at the bed sheets, suddenly deciding that they were incredibly interesting.

"Oi, Dobe!" he balled his fists, trying really hard not to get annoyed.

"It was nothing, Sasuke." Came the quiet reply, and Sasuke was surprised that he didn't react to his unwanted nickname.

"Oh really. You want me to believe that that…nervous breakdown thing was nothing? That you just passed out for no reason?" he arched an eyebrow at this.

Naruto hung his head, knowing that he had been defeated, and that Sasuke suspected something, he knew that he would eventually find out.

The mattress shifted slightly at the sudden added weight, and Naruto flinched away from the contact with the other teen, almost slipping of the bed in his haste. Though he knew that it was just Sasuke, and that he would never do him any harm, he still felt panic rising up his throat.

"It's not that easy." He managed to choke out.

So Sasuke decided that he would drop it for now, his friend would tell him when the time felt right.

"What do you want to do now, then?" he asked, standing up and walking towards the window.

"Sleep. I just wanna sleep." Naruto sounded weary.

So he nodded once, and, half way out the window, said,

"I'll check on you later, then." without even turning around. With that, the Uchiha was gone, and Naruto sank into a restless sleep.

* * *

Although he hadn't pressed the matter, and he knew that Naruto would eventually tell him, Sasuke still really wanted to know what was wrong, and what had happened to him. So after leaving the flat, he made his way over to the academy, where he knew Iruka would be taking his lunch break.

In the yard, the children where running around, shouting and playing. He found Iruka stood over by the wooden swing. He quickly made his way over to his old Sensei.

The friendly Chuunin looked up as he approached.

"Oh, hello Sasuke, what can I do for you?" he smiled at him brightly.

The usually calm headed teen suddenly found himself tongue-tied.

"Uh, well, I was wondering if you could tell me what's wrong with Naruto, what happened to him." He muttered, looking at him hopefully.

But his hopes where dashed when he shook his head sadly.

"No can do, I'm afraid, it's not really my place to say, unless Naruto doesn't mind."

"But he's my friend, I'm only asking for his sake!" And Iruka felt guilty, knowing that he only cared because he cared, and he thought that it was important that the boy knew.

"Look I'll tell you, but you can't let Naruto know that you know, it'll break his heart, and he really doesn't need that right now." Sasuke nodded, to show that he understood, "I mean it, Sasuke, no matter what you want to say to him, you can't ever mention what I'm about to tell you."

"Okay, I get it." He was shocked by the seriousness evident in Iruka's voice.

"Are you sure you want to know, it isn't exactly pleasant." He nodded, and feeling that he would need to, he sat on the little wooden swing.

"Naruto was," he paused here, as if plucking up the courage to carry on, He took a deep breath, "Naruto was raped."

* * *

Suddenly Sasuke was very glad that he had sat down, as he suddenly felt very sick. Iruka looked at him sadly.

"I told you it wasn't very pleasant." He knew what Sasuke was about to ask. "It was his landlord."

"So that's why Tsunade moved him." He said as realisation struck.

It was only then that they noticed one factor that they hadn't before, stood a few feet away, was Sakura, green eyes widened in disbelief.

* * *

Okay so thanks for reading. Please review and what-not, they will be greatly appreciated.

and I am aware how OOC Sasuke seems, but just remember that Tsunade told him to be there, and all that jazz, and I just felt that he should at least seem a bit caring XD

Much love to all!!

Untill next time -bows-


	9. Anger

26/12/08

Nope, I'm not dead, I'm so sorry this has taken me six months, and not much really happens either, but here's chapter 9.

Disclaimer-Still don't own Naruto storylines or characters.

Enjoy.

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**Guardian Angel - Chapter 9 ****– Anger**

Sasuke was sat in Ichiraku's ramen, staring absently into his bowl of noodles. He was still in a state of shock after what Iruka had revealed, and he kept replaying the moment in his head.

He wanted to say something, anything, to Naruto, he wanted to help. But then he remembered Iruka's urgency as he demanded that they not say anything, he could still hear his words ringing in his ears…

_Sakura gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth._

"_You can not say anything, Sakura." Iruka said, his voice hard with urgency._

"_But...but…"_

"_No!" he roughly shook his head, "it would break him." This time he said it softer, resting his hand on her shoulder, and he looked between the two teens, to convey the levity of his words._

"_What can we do?" Sasuke asked._

"_Help him through. All of us." _

"Naruto." He muttered. Yeah, help him through, that's what I'll do, he thought, before returning to his ramen.

Once he was done eating, Sasuke stood up, threw some money on the counter, and left the restaurant. Reaching a fork in the road, he paused in thought, before taking the turning that led away from the Uchiha district, and would take him Naruto's flat.

Upon reaching the foot of the block that housed the flat, he took the true shinobi way, and jumped through the window. Naruto was curled under the thick duvet, and Sasuke could see that his thin frame was shaking violently.

The Uchiha perched on the window sill, and watched the boy thrash in his sleep, unsure if he should wake him from his night terrors or not. Before he could say so much as 'I-hate-my-brother-time-to-go-and-kill-him', blue eyes snapped open as he jolted upright, and a strangled scream bubbled from his throat. Sasuke jumped forwards and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. But it had the opposite to the desired affect.

"Get away from me!" he screamed, "Get-a-way-from-me!" Naruto tightly scrunched his eyes; his body was still trembling erratically.

"Naruto?" he said softly, backing away from the other boy, he sat at the end of the bed, and waited for the hysteria to pass. It wasn't long before Naruto stopped screaming, only until he realised that Sasuke was no longer touching him, and then another ten minutes before his breathing slowed, and he opened his eyes, blinking.

"Oh fuck, Naruto," he whispered, "What're we going to do with you."

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A black figure was looming out of the darkness, and he felt clammy hands on his body. Opening his mouth, Naruto let lose a heart-wrenching scream. The man disappeared, but by this point Naruto was stuck in his nightmare, unable to realise that he had woken up.

"Get away from me!" the words burst forth, unbidden.

Eventually Naruto blinked as coherent thought returned to him, and he saw someone perched on the bed before him. He heard Sasuke mutter something. But he felt comforted, the other boy being there, though this thought thoroughly scared him. The last of the Uchiha's stood up, and slowly walked around to the side of the bed that was closer to the door. He held out his hand, but Naruto flinched away.

Instead he headed for the door that led to the rest of the flat, and opened it, leading the way to the kitchenette, indicating for his friend to follow. Naruto shakily stood up, and, pulling on a green dressing gown, followed Sasuke out of the bedroom.

Once the blond was sat at the small wooden table, Sasuke poured him a glass of orange juice from the fridge, and placed it before him on the table, before turning his attention to the as-off-yet untoasted bread.

As Sasuke watched Naruto eat his rather belated lunch, he decided that the boy was looking pale and peaky.

"I thought we could stop in and say hey to Iruka, the academy should be letting out soon." He said, nonchalantly, deciding that it would be good for Naruto to see his all time favourite sensei.

* * *

The two did just that, and spent twenty minutes helping him clear up the classroom in which he taught. Predictably, he had been delighted to see them, although it was obvious that by _them_ he meant Naruto. They had talked about everything and nothing. Sasuke had glanced at the clock repeatedly, and eventually made excuses for them to leave, and so they left a slightly disappointed Iruka to his peace.

On their return journey, Sasuke watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. The blond's eyes were flickering from left to right, warily watching the passing crowd. Sliding his gaze downwards, he saw that Naruto's body was tense, his shoulders hunched tightly, and his jaw clenched. His hands were clenched, digging viciously into his palms. There was a slight, barely noticeable, trembling in his arms.

Rounding a corner, there was a group of four civilian teenagers laughing and joking jovially, enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun. One, a tall boy with ashen hair, was sat on a smaller girl that bore a slight resemblance to Sakura. She was squealing loudly.

"Rape! Rape!" She cried, before breaking into a fit of hysterical laughter.

Naruto froze. Sasuke walked a few steps more, before he realised that his companion was no longer besides him, he retreated, and stopped besides Naruto.

"Naruto?" he asked, "Naruto, what's wrong?"

"I just don't get what so funny about it." He said quietly, the quiet anger in his voice obvious.

Sasuke opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of how to reply, but before he could say anything, Naruto had bolted, speeding away in the direction of his flat.

Sasuke followed, and it wasn't long before he was stood in the middle of the flat, Naruto's bedroom door having just been slammed in his face, forcing him to back away, surprised.

"Just go away!" Naruto was angry, so much so that it was scary. He had never acted this way before.

"But Nar-" he was cut off by the sound of a shoe colliding with the hard wood of the door.

"Just fuck off!"

Not knowing what to do in such a situation, he quietly slipped out the door.

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So there was that.

And by the way, the girl wasn't really being raped, it was just kids messing about as kids do.

Anyway, I'm of to watch Marry Poppins, hope you all enjoyed that.


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